Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Suspension of disbelief is a regular requirement of science fiction and fantasy genres, and the same is true for historical fictions. While there were specific scenes in The Help that I enjoyed, and many moments when the actresses’ performances drew me in, the swings back and forth between racial injustice, caricature, sentimentality and toilet humor were too abrupt to keep me engaged inside the story for the full two and a half hours. We all know that life was much worse for black maids than what is presented in this movie (see the statement from the Association of Black Women Historians here), but when you tell a story against the backdrop of a historical injustice, you usually take artistic license in order to make a point about the modern world. And sometimes you use humor to soften up the audience so that they are more inclined to learn a hard lesson. Unfortunately, The Help discourages the viewer from considering parallels to today. It relies almost entirely upon examples of racism that its target audience believes are both universally wrong and safely in the past. Which, it turns out, may be a perfect strategy for selling tickets and getting Oscar’s attention:The film may not teach us much about overcoming modern racism, but it has mastered the lessons of the modern Oscar campaign. The credits run alphabetically, a nod to the feminist collaborative process which also just happens to provide the necessary cover for Viola Davis and the studio to campaign her as either Lead or Supporting Actress, depending upon how the field looks at the end of the year. Mary J. Blige’s “The Living Proof” plays over the final--and purposefully extended--image of the film, encouraging audiences to stay and listen. Aibileen even goes so far as to declare “We’re not doing Civil Rights. We’re just telling stories,” thus providing a brilliant excuse for those who wish to reward the film for fulfilling one, both or neither of these functions. And in a strange way, even the weaknesses of the plot only serve to highlight that the acting is the strongest part of the movie, which could prove to be a selling point for seeing these actresses in more films.I predict that The Help will win two Oscars, and secretly hope that the second acceptance speech calls out the Academy by saying: “I can’t believe you ate a second slice!”Supporting Actress: Viola Davis (currently ranked 1) is the clear front-runner in the supporting actress race, but a win in that category does not necessarily lead to the career trajectory that she deserves. She could easily make the case that her role is really the lead of the film (because it is!) That tends to be a much more difficult category for both the win and the nomination, but both are still possible if the film continues to do well at the box office and her campaign takes off. Either way, it is my hope that we see a lot more films with her as the star.Original Song: Mary J. Blige for “The Living Proof” (currently ranked 1). This song seems to me like the kind of thing that the Academy will love. You can watch and listen to the music video over at Julian Stark’s page.Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer (currently ranked 2) also seems like a sure thing for a nomination at this point, and could quite possibly win if Viola Davis goes lead.Costume Design: Sharen Davis (currently ranked 12, but will likely move up in my next set of predictions.) Sharen Davis has been nominated twice before in this category for Dreamgirls and Ray, and a third nod is quite possible here.Adapted Screenplay: Tate Taylor (currently ranked 12)Art Direction: Mark Ricker and Rena DeAngelo (currently ranked 14, and will possibly move up in my next set of predictions)Lead Actress: Emma Stone (currently ranked 16)Supporting Actress: Cicely Tyson (currently ranked 17)Best Picture (currently ranked 21, and will surely move up in my next set of predictions)Film Editing: Hughes Winborne (currently ranked 28)Cinematography: Stephen Goldblatt (currently ranked 31)Best Director: Tate Taylor (currently ranked 41)Makeup and hair (currently unranked, but will be included next time)Original Score: Thomas Newman (currently unranked, but will possibly be added next time)Supporting Actresses who are currently unranked but may be considered in future predictions: Jessica Chastain, Allison Janney, Sissy Spacek, Bryce Dallas Howard, Aunjanue Ellis.My Lamb Score: 3 out of 5 Lambs What is a lamb score? ClickHERE to learn more.

Monday, August 22, 2011

What I Saw: AmigoAmigo is a story about the impossible choices made during wartime. Set during the Philippine-American War, Joel Torre’s character Rafael (the title character called “Amigo” by the invading armies) is charged with protecting the people inside and outside of his village as best he can in the face of yet another wave of colonial imperialism--a wave which they all recognize is neither the first nor the last. While there are several gunfights that interrupt the village’s daily and seasonal cycles, the impossible choices explored in this movie are not the glorified military strategies that define most war films, but rather the intimate survival strategies of the people engaged in the transition from one colonial master to another. And in keeping with this, the pace and drama of the film comes not from the exciting bravado of winners and losers, but from the much slower, more impending, and more certain playing out of what we all (should) know: That the people never win in war.

At first you might think that the American soldiers are miscast compared to their Philippine counterparts. They seem scrawny, unkempt and comedically absurd in their lack of discipline. But in time you realize that they were perfectly cast, precisely because this is not intended to be an American fiction where the macho, muscle-bound soldier-hero makes the world safe for democracy. They seem remote and out of touch because they are. They have been carried along for the ride, as has the Spanish priest who preceded them, and carry with them the excesses that came from their incursions into other lands.

While the writing, acting, cinematography, art direction and (at times over the top) costume design work to distinguish this Philippine village in a particular location of place and time, the soldiers seem incapable in both their words and actions of approaching the place or its people any differently than their racist conquests in the American south, Cuba or Hawaii. Their “with us or against us” attitude leaves them largely unaware of the complex loyalties--and jealousies-- of family, economics, religion, politics, sexuality and entertainment that the film explores. Crises of faith, jokes at the colonizer’s expense, economic transactions, celebrations, loyalty and betrayal all go on under the noses of the Americans, and sometimes even at their insistence, as is the case with the elections or the romantic diversions.Sadly, those who go to this film hoping for a testosterone-filled war movie will likely miss these complexities as well, and those who review the film immediately after leaving the theater are likely to remark that it is a bit slow at points. Like the colonialism that is its subject, this movie works on you over time, in the silent and backgrounded moments as much as the grand pronouncements. It does not propose its own solution, but rather asks the viewers to struggle with our own strategies, knowing that even if we cannot win today, we must still protect tomorrow.Oscar Chances: John Sayles has been nominated twice before for original screenplay, but the movie will need to pick up significantly at either the box office (a difficult task for an independent film) or the critics groups if it is going to be remembered at Oscar time.Visual Effects (currently ranked 41)Original Screenplay: John Sayles (currently unranked)Lead Actor: Joel Torre (currently unranked)Art Direction: Rodell Cruz (currently unranked)Cinematography: Lee Meily (currently unranked)Supporting Actor: Ronie Lazaro, Chris Cooper, Garret Dillahunt, Yul Vasquez (currently unranked)Supporting Actress: Rio Locsin (currently unranked)Costume Design: Gino Gonzales (currently unranked)My Lamb Score: 3 out of 5 Lambs What is a lamb score? ClickHERE to learn more.

Friday, August 19, 2011

In doing research, I have found many different interpretations of when Oscar predictions should begin. As you know from the name of this blog, my philosophy is that it is Never Too Early. But I’m curious to learn what my readers think, and I thought it might make for an interesting open thread this weekend.When is the appropriate time to begin Oscar predictions?After an actor/director/writer/producer says “I’m thinking of pitching a film about...”After a script makes the Black List.After a studio picks up a film.After a film is listed on IMDB or similar sites.After a director has been attached.After major casting is completed.After shooting has begun.After shooting has wrapped.After a distributor has been secured.After a tentative release date is set.After the trailer is released.After a film gets scheduled for a film festival.After a film plays at a film festival.After a film is released in theaters.After the critics have weighed in.After you have personally seen the movie.After the shortlists are announced.After the precursors and guilds have spoken.After the nominees have been announced.The morning of the Oscar ceremony.Let me know what you think in the comments. And Happy Weekend!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Here is my first attempt to make predictions for the 88th Oscar Cinematography race. Although we don’t yet know who most of the cinematographers are, we can make educated guesses based upon the types and settings of the films.1. Blood Meridian (Predicted Winner)2. The Many Deaths Of Barnaby James3. One World Ocean4. A Thousand Splendid Suns5. Avatar 3Alternates:6. Myth7. The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Silver Chair8. Untitled Tintin Film9. Faster Pussycat Kill Kill10. Inamorata11. Boyhood12. Travis McGee13. The Epic Of Troy Knight14. The Five Hundred15. Coram Boy16. Time Bandits17. Black Mafia Family Project18. The Corrections19. Continuum20. Guardians Of The Galaxy21. Hot Wheels22. Star Blazers23. Trollhunters24. Untitled Bobby Glickert Sci-Fi Thriller25. The Swarm26. Untitled Batman Reboot27. Special Topics In Calamity Physics28. The Believers29. Important Artifacts And Personal Property From The Collection Of Lenore Doolan And Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, And Jewelry30. The Secret (Of Happiness)31. Untitled John Moore Peter Buchman Project32. Untitled Paul Revere Project33. Divergent34. I, Robot 235. The Hunger Games 336. Bad Boys 337. Cape No. 738. The Amazing Spiderman 239. Evidence40. The Occasionally Interesting Anti-Adventures Of An Unnamed Girl41. Affected Provincial’s Companin42. Alien At Large43. Bride Of Frankenstein44. Caliber45. Echo46. Gravity47. Line Of Sight48. Soapdish49. The Dangerous Book For Boys50. TrustAs always, check the Tracker Pages in the upper right hand corner of this blog for the most updated predictions in all categories!See Cinematography predictions for other years HERE.If you’re into cinematography, you might also like Film Editing and Visual Effects.See predictions for other categories at the 88th Oscars HERE.Switch to another year: 84th, 85th, 86th, 87th, 88th, 89th

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Here are today’s rankings for the 88th Oscar Original Score race. Most of these films don’t have composers yet, and those that do are only rumored, but we can still make guesses based upon genre and the potential profile of each film.1. Alan Menken for Lidsville (Predicted Winner)2. James Horner for Avatar 33. Randy Newman for Toy Story 44. Nigel Osborne for Ivan The Fool5. Travis McGeeAlternates:6. Coram Boy7. Untitled Tintin Film8. Myth9. The Corrections10. Trollhunters11. Alma12. The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Silver Chair13. A Thousand Splendid Suns14. The Many Deaths Of Barnaby James15. Faster Pussycat Kill Kill16. Imaginary Enemies17. Untitled Batman Reboot18. The Epic Of Troy Knight19. Blood Meridian20. Inamorata21. The Five Hundred22. Divergent23. I, Robot 224. The Swarm25. The Amazing Spiderman 226. The Hunger Games 327. The Occasionally Interesting Anti-Adventures Of An Unnamed Girl28. Trust29. Black Mafia Family Project30. Bad Boys 331. Star Blazers32. Untitled Bobby Glicker Sci-Fi Thriller33. Untitled John Moore Peter Buchman Project34. Untitled Paul Revere Project35. Boyhood36. Hot Wheels37. Evidence38. Continuum39. Guardians Of The Galaxy40. Gravity41. Insects42. The Mighty43. Time Bandits44. Bride Of Frankenstein45. Echo46. Line Of Sight47. Untitled Happy Troll Doll Project48. Alien At Large49. Caliber50. The BelieversAs always, check the Tracker Pages in the upper right hand corner of this blog for the most updated predictions in all categories!

See Original Score predictions for other years HERE.Like words with your music? Check out the Original Song predictions.See predictions for other categories at the 88th Oscars HERE.Switch to another year: 84th, 85th, 86th, 87th, 88th, 89th

As always, check the Tracker Pages in the upper right hand corner of this blog for the most updated predictions in all categories!See Film Editing predictions for other years HERE.If you’re into film editing, you might also like Cinematography and Visual Effects.See predictions for other categories at the 88th Oscars HERE.Switch to another year: 84th, 85th, 86th, 87th, 88th, 89th